Trailer for Tokyo Idols.
Idols are designed to be worshipped. In the country that contributed anime and karaoke to popular culture, a new phenomenon has emerged. Aspiring performers pursue middle-aged salarymen online, who then obsessively flock to lip-sync dance shows and pay for the opportunity to shake hands with these teenage idols at post-performance meet-and-greets. Competition between idols is fierce, and rabid fans—known as otaku—are critical to success. To outsiders, it feels like a fetish economy, where men engage in escapism with young girls rather than attempting actual relationships with women their own age. Obsessions with youth and celebrity are nearly global, yet in the land of the rising sun they manifest in a very specific way. Following Rio, a 19-year-old aspiring pop singer in the twilight of her idol career, and Koji, her dedicated 43-year-old superfan, Tokyo Idols highlights the extremes of fantasy fulfillment.